Posts Tagged ‘Windows 7’
Microsoft Warns of Win 7 Graphics Security Hole
A new Windows 7 graphics flaw has been exposed that could expose users of the 64-bit OS to experience non-responsive systems, restarts and unauthorized code execution.
Microsoft detailed in Security Advisory 2028859 that the vulnerability is to do with the Canonical Display Driver (cdd.dll), which is used by desktop composition to blend the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) and DirectX drawing, and affects Windows 7 x64, Windows Server 2008 R2 x64, and Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium systems.
Microsoft says that there isn’t a big worry because code execution would be “very difficult due to memory randomization both in kernel memory and via Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR).” Still, those who are worried about security can simply disable Aero visual effects to keep this security flaw at bay until Microsoft issues a fix.
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Tips for Easier Printing in Windows 7
In general, printing in Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 7 is the same as it has been for the past several Windows operating systems. You still perform the same installation and user actions to execute a print job. But there are a few new enhancements that strive to eliminate common user and IT hassles:
- Easier printing to devices found in multiple, recurring locations such as the home and office
- Access information about installed print devices and have an easy way to take action
- Achieve greater stability around print drivers
Let’s look at a few of these new features.
Location aware printing
New with Windows 7, the OS (operating system) automatically sets and remembers your default printer based on your current network location. So now, when you go between the office and home, your default printer will change automatically, making it simple to access and use the printer you have in each location. Say farewell to manually changing printers every time you move from one place to another!
Device access and management
As with previous OSs, a device icon will show up in your Devices and Printers folder when you install a new device. But with Windows 7, you can now access helpful product information and take action on the device by simply double-clicking the device icon. This new service provides you with whatever information the printer manufacturer has made available, which can include documentation, tutorials, configuration and setup, supplies re-ordering and support access.
Driver isolation mode
This tip is mostly for IT folks, but anyone who has to administer printer drivers will also appreciate this feature. With Windows 7, print drivers can be loaded in driver isolation mode, ensuring print drivers don’t crash the print spooler (which is pretty much the most common source of failure). HP drivers can help you increase stability and reduce the support issues associated with spooler crashes. You can also avoid issues with corrupt application and file or other driver actions, especially for shared spoolers on a server. For more information on using HP drivers in driver isolation mode, read this driver isolation white paper (PDF, 312KB).
Windows 7 and HP’s Universal Print Driver
While exploring some of the new printing features in Windows 7, it is a good time to look at some of the innovative print solutions that HP delivers for LaserJet printers, AiOs (All-in-Ones) and MFPs (multifunction products).
One of those key solutions is HP’s UPD (Universal Print Driver), which is a free download that allows users to utilize a single driver to discover, connect to and print to a broad range of networked and direct-connected LaserJet devices. The UPD supports PCL5, PCL6 and PS and is now available for Windows 7, including 32-bit and 64-bit versions. It provides the same driver features as HP’s product-specific drivers and allows your users to easily achieve their desired output across the HP LaserJet product family.
Shortcuts, eco-friendly printing and security
To help make printing easier, the UPD allows users to save settings of recurring print jobs as shortcuts for easy re-use. Simply configure your settings for the intended output and click Save As on the Printing Shortcuts tab of the UPD. This will save the settings for that job type for future use. And the UPD comes standard with the Eco-print (two-sided print) shortcut, which makes two-sided printing a snap.
Additionally, if you want to enhance the security of your print job and reduce the waste of uncollected output, you can configure the UPD to print each job with a Personal Identification Number (PIN). This will enable the device to prompt you for a PIN in order to retrieve the print job. And this can be saved as a shortcut for convenient re-use.
HP EasyColor, available in the UPD, can even make smart decisions for you, so you can just hit print. When you’re printing a document that has several color elements of different types (think bar charts, company logos and photos, all in a presentation), the technology analyzes each section and automatically adjusts print output for the best results.
Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade Cheaper for New PCs
Picking up that netbook but not wanting to deal with that Starter Edition of Windows 7?
Are you not entirely happy with the limitations of the Windows 7 Starter or Home Premium of that new computer that you were thinking about buying? Microsoft today announced that discounts are on the way.
Starting next week, those who buy a new computer have the option of picking up an Anytime Upgrade Package at a discount.
Hack Expert Says Windows 7 is Hard to Hack
Windows 7 is harder to hack than Apple’s Snow Leopard–mainly due to Flash being installed by default on SL.
Security expert Charlie Miller has participated in the Pwn2Own contest over the last two years, and has won both times. Held in the CansecWest Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the contest challenges contestants to find “big bugs” in web browsers, operating systems, and even in mobile devices. With the 2010 conference just around the corner (March 24), oneITsecurity conducted an interview with the champ and asked Miller which was harder to crack: Windows 7 or Snow Leopard?
“Windows 7 is slightly more difficult because it has full ASLR (address space layout randomization) and a smaller attack surface (for example, no Java or Flash by default),” he said. “Windows used to be much harder because it had full ASLR and DEP (data execution prevention). But recently, a talk at Black Hat DC showed how to get around these protections in a browser in Windows.”
He also added that a safe browsing combination would be to use Chrome or Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7, however he said that there isn’t enough difference between the two browsers to “get worked up about.” But he did emphasize that Flash not be installed no matter what browser or OS is used by the consumer.
The interview also covered exploits on game consoles. As the interviewer points out, the devices are in our living rooms, in our dens and offices, yet there are still few exploits and vulnerabilities discovered. Why aren’t security researchers working on finding exploits on these devices? Because there are more PCs, and game consoles don’t need to be connected to the Internet.
“I’ve had Wii for a year or so and its never been on the Internet,” Miller said. “Its hard to remotely attack the box when you can’t get packets to it 
Also, computers, and phones to a lesser extent, are designed to be customized, to download and use/render content from the Internet. This is where vulnerabilities exist and exploits are created. Game consoles don’t do this as much so the attack surface is much smaller. The final reason, is it is hard to do research on them. Its not easy to get a debugger running on an Xbox, for example.”
WD TV Live HD Media Player is Compatible with Windows 7
WD announced that the WD TV Live HD media player, featuring network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution, is the first network media player compatible with Windows 7. The WD TV Live HD media player makes it easy for anyone to play media stored on USB and network drives, any PC on the home network, as well as content from popular websites, on the biggest screen in their home — their big screen television.
Using the Windows 7 Play To feature, users can initiate and control the streaming of video, music or photos to the WD TV Live HD media player and home entertainment systems from any Windows 7-based PC on their network. Any compatible media file accessible from the PC – located either on the PC or the network – can be played to the WD TV Live by right clicking on the file name in the folder or directly from within Windows Media Player 12 and choosing the WD TV Live HD media player as the playback device.
Current users of the WD TV Live will need to update their WD TV Live HD media player to the latest firmware in order to use the Windows 7 Play To feature. Instructions for updating the WD TV Live HD media player can be found here.
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